Pedagogy: Developing Ally Identities

For over 20 years, the Mary Lynn and Warren Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University has pursued a mission of developing knowledgeable, ethical, caring, and inclusive leadership for a diverse and changing world. This mission supports the broader vision of our land-grant university – that through teaching, research, and service efforts, we are advancing the well-being, quality of life, and standards of living for individuals and communities locally and globally. Our commitment to the common good centers civic leadership development and socially responsible leadership practice. Leadership that makes progress on social, political, economic, and moral issues requires the development of values, practices, and processes of justice (Kliewer & Priest, 2017). Bruce, McKee, Morgan-Fleming, and Warner’s (2019) student leader activist identity continuum offers a framework for developing students’ capacity “to confront pressing issues of justice, equity, and liberation” (p. 537).